When it comes to Charlie Sheen, it seems everyone has an opinion. But not everyone who's become an insta-expert on Sheen's issues over the last week has had his own debilitating battles with addiction and personal demons.
Dicky Eklund, for one, knows what Sheen is going through, even if the boxing trainer doesn't have Adonis DNA and tiger blood coursing through his veins.
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Eklund, brother of boxing champ Mickey Ward whose drug problems torpedoed his own fighting career and landed him in jail, had some words of encouragement for Sheen.
"Having struggled repeatedly with addiction myself, I can only say I understand how difficult it is," Eklund exclusively tells E! News, less than a week after Christian Bale's shout-out at the Oscars led to a crash-inducing rush of traffic on his website.
"I wish the best for Charlie and I genuinely hope he comes through this bigger and better than ever--he is a hugely talented man and, more importantly, a father that has children who need him. Keep fighting Quacka!"
Bale, who shed 30 pounds to play the troubled Eklund opposite Mark Wahlberg as Ward in The Fighter, hoisted trophy after trophy for his performance this year, an awards season that culminated with his Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor last Sunday.
"Hey mate, you're the best," he told Eklund during his acceptance speech. "He's had a wonderful story and I can't wait to see the next chapter."
Who knows, maybe 20 years from now, Robert Pattinson--having perfected his American accents and gained 30 pounds--will be thanking Sheen for sharing his story with the world while hoisting his own Oscar.
(Originally published March 5, 2011, at 11:05 a.m. PT)
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